MR. GOLF: Former Alabama players start season off well

Sunday

Jan 26, 2014 at 11:00 PMJan 26, 2014 at 11:10 PM

It may seem strange to say it as we are still in January, but the PGA Tour just concluded their 10th event of the season.Something wrong with my math? No, welcome to the 2013-14 wraparound season which is in full flow, having begun back in October.So, how are players with ties to Tuscaloosa doing?

By Ian ThompsonGolf Writer

It may seem strange to say it as we are still in January, but the PGA Tour just concluded their 10th event of the season.Something wrong with my math? No, welcome to the 2013-14 wraparound season which is in full flow, having begun back in October.So, how are players with ties to Tuscaloosa doing?Former University of Alabama golfer Jason Bohn is off to the best start. Through nine official events, of which he has played in five, he is 11th on the money list with almost $890,000 in the bank. Must be nice to have already locked up his card for next year, I mean next season. Courtesy of a tie for second in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and tie for third in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, he’s riding high.Kevin Streelman comes next in 32nd place with over $461,000 won in three events. He is taking a break from the Tour, as he and his wife Courtney, who grew up in Tuscaloosa, recently became parents for the first time. His strong start is chiefly from a tie for third in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.Others include Boo Weekley (family ties to Tuscaloosa) in 45th from six events with almost $314,000 won; former Alabama player and Birmingham resident Michael Thompson in 78th; Ben Martin (strong family ties to Tuscaloosa) 102nd; and Bud Cauley (Alabama) 197th.Justin Thomas (Alabama) has played a couple of events on sponsor’s exemptions, while fellow UA alum Dicky Pride has yet to get a PGA Tour start.Both Thomas and Pride have status on the Web.com Tour, as does Nick Rousey, another former UA player. This, the PGA Tour’s developmental tour begins its season Feb. 13 in Colombia, with events to follow in Chile, Brazil and Panama before reaching the U.S. for the Chitimacha Louisiana Open starting March 27. This tour will also visit Mexico and Canada, as well as 19 events in the U.S.The Champions Tour begins on the mainland (they played in Hawaii two weeks ago) Feb. 7 with Steve Lowery (Birmingham resident, former UA golfer) still looking for his first over-50 win, after three PGA Tour victories. Alabama great Jerry Pate is no longer exempt, but expects to play in a handful of events.On the LPGA Tour, former Alabama players Jenny Suh, Jennifer Kirby and Kathleen Ekey began their campaigns last week in the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. Fellow former Tide golfer Brooke Pancake is also exempt on tour this year, but did not tee it up on the aptly-named Paradise Island.Looking ahead…Two highly significant events will be played in Tuscaloosa this summer. The 82nd Women’s State Amateur visits NorthRiver Yacht Club June 18-20. Northport’s Cammie Gray, also a member of the Crimson Tide’s golf team, is the defending champion. She has also won the Women’s Stroke Play Championship the last two years, so will be going for a three-peat when this is played July 23-25 at Canebrake Club in Athens.The Alabama Open, run by the Dixie Section of the PGA, will be played at Ol’ Colony Golf Complex July 28-30.

Ian Thompson has been writing about golf in Alabama for over 20 years. His weekly “Mr. Golf” column concentrates on golfers, golf events and people associated with the sport of interest to the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham areas. Reach him with story ideas at ian@thompsonteesoff.com.